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I don't think I would have started playing piano if there wasn't one in the house, my parents were not musicians they were antiques collectors, so it just happened that a very old fashioned upright piano was the centrepiece of our sitting room. As children my brother and I would walk past and tinker a few keys and before too long we would make up pieces and, in the spirit of sibling rivalry, we would improve rapidly.

The point of this wistful journey though my childhood is to demonstrate that by simply having a piano in the house an opportunity to learn is presented to anyone living in it. If it's not there then no one is going to learn how to play it.

Every week at ePianos.co.uk we get people started on their musical journeys. If you are thinking about taking up the piano hopefully you might find this guide useful. Here is the equipment a typical beginner will purchase from us to get started. For the purposes of this guide let's imagine they have a budget of under £500.

1. A Keyboard/Piano
The Yamaha P45 is a very popular beginners' model because it's priced so low (£299 as of now). The crucial thing is that it has weighted keys so really feels like a piano to play. For the uninitiated 'weighted keys' means that when you push a key down you meet quite a high level of resistance, precisely like you do when you press a key down on a real piano. This helps develop muscle memory in your fingers from an early stage which makes transferring to a real piano for an exam much easier.

2. A Stand
You will need something to put your new keyboard on, while it's possible to lay most keyboards on a table or desktop it's …

So, that's the while P series covered then! - As you've probably heard me point out in each comparison video the 'P' stands for portable. Yamaha's aim is to produce a piano that you can simply tuck under your arm and take out to a gig. They've certainly achieved that because for a full length keyboard (88keys) all three of them are remarkably lightweight, only the P255 giving me slight trouble and causing me to make an involuntary groaning sound while lifting it.

The town that our store is based in (Banbury, Oxfordshire) has a canal running through it and we've supplied a number of these pianos to people who live on barges, particularly the P45 because it's so light and can be stored away so easily. Indeed a lot of people who are pushed for space at home find it handy as you can stand it up on it's end and put it in a cupboard.

It wasn't long ago that you had to pay well over £800 for a portable keyboard with weighted keys, but the prices have …

Here at ePianos HQ this morning we've been comparing the 'top of the range' Yamaha P255 with it's little brother the Yamaha P115. (Video is coming soon).

Although they're in the same range it soon becomes clear that the P255 is in a different class in terms of quality, it's a real professional bit of kit. The P115 seemed a bit sorry when lined up against the P255, it really just can't compete. But what did we expect? it's half the price! It's still probably the best stage piano for under £500 ever made.

The P255 is sublime for a compact stage piano with an upgraded weighted key action (GH) compared to the lower models in the range, it also is the only one that has synthetic ivory keycaps which is a nice touch. It's designed with live performing in mind, it has a panel lock button and a very accurate EQ slider system, which as gigging musicians will know is a VERY handy thing to have. There is loads more to talk about too but I'll leave that …

We're very happy to report that last night we were awarded 'British retailer of the year 2015 - unique achievement award' by BIRA (British Independent Retailers Association).
We were recognised for our dedication to customer service, particularly for our online activities to demonstrate, review and guide customers.

Being musicians it's a real joy play with all the latest keyboard/piano toys and technology, we truly enjoy sharing our thoughts with you and it's a pleasure to start so many people on their musical journeys by providing them with the right instrument.

I do enjoy getting to play with all the latest toys. Yamaha's P series pianos have been extremely popular, it wasn't that long ago you had to pay upwards of £800 to buy a full length, weighted key stage piano, but now you can pick one up from just over £300, great news for pianists.

I'm currently uploading to YouTube a video I made comparing these two models, so look out for that.
There are three models in Yamaha's P series; The P45 (£325), P115 (£469) and the P255 (£1009), as the prices suggest the cheaper ones are closer together quality-wise than the P255, and I intend to make a video soon explaining why.
It was an interesting experience analysing the differences between P45/P115, with only roughly £140 difference in price it turned out to be a classic case of 'you get what you pay for'. I suppose there is a need for a very simple piano like the P45 and also a demand for a slightly more functional one like the P115, I'm sure Yamaha can't please every…